Monday, January 2, 2017

London Regulatory Crackdown to Cost Airbnb $400M in 2017

Airbnb is about to experience the heavy foot of government regulation.

Airbnb will miss out on more than $400m worth of bookings in London this year as it starts enforcing its new 90-night limit for hosts there, according to new analysis, reportsThe Financial Times.

The research, which draws on data from AllTheRooms, an accommodation search engine, and analysis by the FT, underscores the growing cost of regulatory compliance for one of Silicon Valley’s most high-profile start-ups.

Other cities are also harassing the firm.

Over the past year, regulators in Berlin banned short-term rentals of entire homes; Barcelona, one of Airbnb’s top markets, has slapped the company with several fines and New York state has introduced strict penalties to prevent Airbnb-style short stays in apartments.

1 comment:

Obviously the way to limit short term rentals are through condo and coop association bylaws. I have a condo in south beach and the minimum rental is 3 months which makes the unit worth less than something that can be rented daily but limits transients.

I learned the hard way what it is like to be in a hotel when attending a conference nearby - my wife's purse was stolen in a conference room (no cameras in that room) and when I was trying to talk to someone responsible in security it was a constant parade of complaining guests, guests without money, hookers, guests in fights.

Now freestanding homes is another problem, before airbnb no one probably ever thought of short term rentals so there are not covenants running with the land to solve a unanticipated problem. Believe me you do not want your neighbors home turned into a nightly rental property.